While most people might consider them annoying, and some might go so far as to demand their removal from the plane, one man displayed a rare act of kindness and generosity on a recent flight by helping a mom calm her kids down when they were throwing temper tantrums.

Jessica Rudeen, a 34-year-old mom from Bentonville, Arkansas, brought her two kids on an American Airlines flight to Wilmington, North Carolina, on April 10.

The stay-at-home mom told INSIDER that she had encountered some issues as she was going through airport security with her kids, and, as a result, she didn't have time to feed her 4-month-old baby Alexander before they had to board the plane.

Alexander started screaming in her arms as they boarded, and, when they arrived at their seats in the back of the plane, Rudeen's 3-year-old daughter Caroline also started crying.

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"Once I asked her to sit down, she started to get nervous and scared and it turned into a full meltdown," Rudeen told us. "I tried everything I could to convince her to sit. She was having none of it and started screaming, 'I don't want to go, I want to get off the plane!'"

While Rudeen's two kids were crying, the man sitting next to the mom offered to hold her baby.

Todd Walker, 51, works at a lumber company in Kansas City and was traveling to Wilmington on a routine visit to his company's import mill.

The father of two told INSIDER he had just gotten settled for the flight when he heard a commotion nearby.

"I honestly had no idea what was going on," Walker said. "Then I see this mom coming around the corner, and she has these giant eyes that are just filled with fear. Her kids are tired and angry and stressed."

While Walker held Alexander, Rudeen took the opportunity to put Caroline into her seat, strap on her seatbelt, and put on her favorite movie, "Trolls." Within moments, Caroline settled down and stopped screaming.

Then, Walker handed Alexander back to Rudeen so she could feed him, and soon the baby calmed down as well.

While Rudeen fed her infant, Walker made conversation with Caroline. "He engaged with her, asked her questions, and eventually she was offering him her coloring book to color, telling him how old she is, introducing her brother," Rudeen said. "By the end of the flight, he was Caroline's best friend."

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Before they landed, Walker realized that he was on the same connecting flight as Rudeen. He helped her family off the plane, walked them over to the connecting flight, and even switched his seat so he could sit next to them.

After they got off the flight, Rudeen was so touched by Walker's kindness and compassion that she wrote a Facebook post about her encounter.

"This guy showed me kindness and compassion that I've never known from another person," Rudeen wrote on Facebook. "I am blown away by God's hand in this because we could have been placed next to anyone, but we were seated next to one of the nicest men I have ever met in my life."

Initially, she shared the Facebook post because she wanted to find Walker to keep in touch. Rudeen knew that Walker lived in Kansas City and that his oldest son attended college in Arkansas, so she was sure that someone in her group of friends would know him.

To her surprise, her Facebook post went viral, with thousands of reactions and comments, and a mere three hours after sharing her post, she was able to reconnect with Walker.

Neither Rudeen or Walker expected their story to go viral, but both said they feel humbled and happy that there is so much attention surrounding a positive and uplifting story.

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"Kindness is everywhere, and I think sometimes it's overlooked because of the negative side of life," Rudeen said. "People say this kind of gesture is common, but for me and my family, it was anything but common that day. It was genuinely life-changing."

Walker said he was happy to help, and that he gained something important from that encounter as well. "I made some new friends on that flight," he said. "At the end of the day, I felt like I was the lucky one."